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There is a drip from the lower nut on the central heating pump in my airing cupboard.
Do I:
1) Put in some leak-stopping stuff?
2) Tighten the nut?
3) Remove the nut (having drained the system obvs or reduced pressure) and try and replace the seal or re-seat it or something?
4) Get a new pump or at least pump fitting?
Obviously I know I could call a plumber (so don't bother pointing it out) but I'd rather not. If I wanted to call one I wouldn't be on here asking.
I'd be tightening the nut first but with the expectation I'll probably be draining and putting some kind of jointing compound on the olive and then reassembling. Certainly not worth paying a plumber for if you're not a total klutz.
Always have a back up plan 😉
2) Tighten the nut?
Generally fixes 90% of leaks...
eg next door's underfloor heating sprung a leak and my neighbour (whose moved abroad and let it out) asked me to take a look - two seconds with a spanner to just tighten a fitting and leak sorted. I should really charge a call out fee....
I'd be draining, then very gingerly see if you can get any more on the nut. If you do, then purge the system to see if it's sealed. If you can't get any more, then I'd start to investigate, ie take nut off.
Re the GIF above, the problem with split frozen pipes isn't fixing them, it's finding the frigging leak. Happened to pipe in parent's cottage in the Dales. Could hear it pissing water inside a wall, but had to jigsaw the back off half the kitchen to locate the bastard.....
Not here...
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Found it....
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Split section....
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2) Tighten the nut?
Generally fixes 90% of leaks…
This. I'm surprised you haven't got isolation valves either side of the pump, which would obviate any draining malarkey if you have to do any more.
Options 1 & 4 are just plain daft for what you've described, 3's your next stop.
If tightening the nut doesn't help, I have successfully used self-amalgamating tape to stop a persistent drip on a pipe that was going to replaced in a few weeks.
Nip the nut up. If that doesn't work drain the system, remove the fittings and apply some boss white and refit.
Back the nut off a fraction to break any corrosion, then tighten it 2 fractions.
Preferably not the night before a bank holiday weekend which is when anything important breaks here.
STW is (on average) correct - the nut is large and appears to be intended for hand tightening. I turned it a degree or two by hand then nipped it up a little more with pipe grips (not overly so though) and it seems ok for now.
Thanks. I'll do the other things if this doesn't work. There are isolation taps either side of the pump.
I turned it a degree or two by hand then nipped it up a little more with pipe grips (not overly so though) and it seems ok for now.
If you can tighten by hand it was very loose, they're supposed to crush a brass washer (forgotten the proper name) to get a good seal, which takes a fair bit of force to do so...
Edit: olive
Sounds like the big nut that joins the pump valve to the pump itself.
If it is newish then it will hopefully have had a rubber washer in it. They are pretty reliable, but it should be more than hand tight, but not much, you should be fine with your actions.
I've got what just be a pinhole on my central heating, probably in a void under a tiled floor.
I thought the leak stopping additives were a bodge but the reviews seem very positive...anyone got a view? (Silly question 🙂 )
And nobody said tighten it with mole grips...
’m surprised you haven’t got isolation valves either side of the pump, which would obviate any draining malarkey if you have to do any more.
This. Pumps should have quarter turn valves either side so you can isolate the pump. Makes replacing a pump a doddle. If the nip up of the nut doesn't fix it then it could be the rubber seal has failed. You can get replacement seals, isolate the pump, remove it, replace seals, put it all back together and that should do it. You'll get a small amount of water loss, the volume that is inside the pump, so nothing a towel can't deal with.